Jim Muncy says that the biggest breakthroughs last year, in a spectacular year for space activities both public and private, were not technological, but political.

Rand,

Minor quibble. I didn't say the biggest breakthrus were political, vs. technical.

I said we had two huge political breakthrus.
Political breakthrus are MUCH RARER than
engineering, science, or business breakthrus.

Think of it in terms of the old joke: a priest, minister and rabbi are all standing outside the pearly gates in line to get into heaven, and suddenly a bunch of angels roughly tell them to move aside as they bring a trial-lawyer (or Congressman or Network Anchorman) to the front of the line for a VIP express entry. Afterwords, the priest asks the gatekeeper why was someone of an less-than-holy profession getting such VIP treatment, and the bureaucrat-angel explains "Frankly, Father, we're full to the brim up here with holy men. But it's not very often we get a _________."

Think of my piece as a very long euphemism for the "mild profanity of wonderment" I uttered after O'Boyle told me the bill passed. ;-)